"It's the decade with no style."

GARTH JENNINGS: And the thing of it is that I’d say our script was even less dependent on ‘80s paraphernalia and, and, and nostalgia. It was only when we got to set and the set was dressed and the people came out in their wardrobe, we were sort of like, “Oh my god.” It’s always... it’s an extra 80% of ‘80s razzle-dazzle from the script to the set. Just by dressing it to be period, it was... for example, a nice little scene in the script. He’s on the phone to his mother. The boy’s in the car. And when he puts the phone to his ear, it’s this giant block. And the audience starts laughing, and they’re thinking, “Yeeeeah,” and we never intended that at all.

NICK GOLDSMITH: The problem is just that we grew up in the ‘80s. It wasn’t a great decade. I mean, there were some great things in it, but it wasn’t very stylish. It was pretty garish most of the time. It’s the decade with no style.

GARTH: I think so, too, because you look at the ‘70s and everyone would laugh at the hippies and the disco, but at least they didn’t take themselves seriously. The ‘80s was all sort of like this arched eyebrow and these plucked faces...

MORIARTY: It’s all very Human League.

NICK: And like you said, we weren’t trying to make THE WEDDING SINGER. We weren’t trying to make...

GARTH: That’s a totally different thing, yeah.

NICK: It just so happens that’s when the story was set.

MORIARTY: It felt more to me like you made the film in the ‘80s instead of making a film about the ‘80s. And that’s always sort of the tell in these films… the way people can’t help but go overboard and ladle on the period stuff that makes them laugh. And you get that sort of playacting like “Oh, look, I’m a hippie!”

NICK: Yes, yes, yes... that’s very true.